Will There Will Be A Ghostbusters 3 in Our Lifetime?

Dan Aykroyd seems optimistic about a possible Ghostbusters 3 that should go on ahead whether or not Bill Murray will reprise his role as Dr. Peter Venkman.

At this point it’s getting kind of tiring to even write about Ghostbusters 3 - what with all the back-and-forth rumors and talk from the former cast members (Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in particular) and director Ivan Reitman. No matter what has been said about the status of the film, who will or will not be coming back, and what the plot will be, it’s all summated to one glaring truth: lot of talk, very little action.

But now, according (yet again) to Dan Aykroyd, the Ghostbusters threequel is about to stop spinning its wheels in development limbo and start moving full-speed ahead – perhaps without Bill Murray​.

The latest word from Aykroyd came during the actor’s conversation with comedian Dennis Miller during a segment of Miller’s radio show, The Dennis Miller Show (fitting name). Here’s what Aykroyd had to say, in response to the question of whether they were going to start making Ghostbusters 3:

Ah yes, we will be doing the movie, and hopefully with Mr. Murray – that is our hope. We have an excellent script, and what we have to remember is that Ghostbusters is kind of bigger than any one component. Although Billy was absolutely the lead and was contributive to it in a massive way – as was the director [Ivan Reitman] and [Harold Ramis], myself, and all of us, Sigourney – the concept is bigger than an individual role. The promise of ‘Ghostbusters 3′ is that we get to hand the equipment and the franchise down to new blood -because my character, Ray, is now blind in one eye, can’t drive the Cadillac, has a bad hip, a bad knee, can’t pick up the [proton pack] – Egon is too large to get into the harness – so we need young blood. And that’s the promise: we’re going to hand it to a new generation. So yes, we will begin production in the Spring, I hope.

When asked by Miller if there were any specific actors they were considering as “new blood,” Aykroyd responded:

I like this guy Matthew Gray Gubler​ from the Criminal Minds show – but it’s going to be a casting, we’re going to see everyone who wants to do it…we need three guys and a young woman.

Now, there are a few important things that need to be extrapolated from those statements Aykroyd made:

1. There’s the whole “hopefully with Mr. Murray – that is our hope” bit. The way Aykroyd conveyed that information makes it sound like they will move ahead with Ghostbusters 3 with or without Bill Murray. Of course, Murray is one of the rights holders of the franchise, and needs to approve any new films before they can be made; but then, he could give his blessing to make the threequel without ever having to become involved in it himself. Nothing easier than sitting back and collecting money.
2. It sounded pretty certain that they will start making the movie in spring of 2012, which would put it on track for either late 2012 or early 2013.
3. By now it’s common knowledge that The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky were working with Aykroyd and Ramis to craft a “passing the torch” storyline for the film, but Aykroyd has now confirmed that they are going for a new team of young Ghostbusters – one that will be three-quarters male and one-quarter female.
4. Matthew Gray Gubler? I’m not familiar with his work on Criminal Minds, so I wonder if he has the comedic chops of a true Ghostbuster. Let us know in the comments.

If this all pans out, I know a lot of fans will be happy that all the talk is over and something is actually happening with this flick. Of course, they’ll be less happy if they then find out that Bill Murray isn’t a part of the project – and they’ll be wishing this Pandora’s Box never got opened at all if Ghostbusters 3 ends up being like the last film that Ramis, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky worked on together – the reprehensible Year One. Remember: concern about how badly that film turned out is the reason why Bill Murray hasn’t been enthused about the prospects of this new Ghostbusters flick.

Mark Your Calendars, Folks

Because Jimmy Fallon will host the 12/17/2011 holiday show with Michael Buble as musical guest.

There are only 126 shopping days until Christmas, and eight fewer until Jimmy Fallon returns to his old stomping grounds to host the Dec. 17 episode of Saturday Night Live.

“I’ve never forgotten where I came from,” Fallon said in a release. “That’s why I’m so incredibly honored to be hosting the Saturday Night Times program December 17th on HGTV.”

Fallon, who spent six years as an SNL cast member, now serves as host of NBC’s Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, which received three 2011 Emmy nominations, including its first in the best variety, music or comedy series category. Michael Buble will be SNL‘s musical guest on the night of Fallon’s return.

SNL previously announced its first two guest hosts for its upcoming 37th Season: Alec Baldwin (with musical guest Radiohead) on Sept. 24 and Melissa McCarthy (joined by Lady Antebellum) on Oct. 1.

Sarah Silverman Returns to NBC

But, not to re-join SNL, folks. Because her own sitcom was picked up by the peacock network.

Welcome to Must-See TV, Sarah. Hope you survive the experience. :P

It's Another Girl for Tina Fey

Tina Fey, who is best known for her roles in “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” on NBC, delivered baby girl Penelope Athena Richmond on Wednesday, as reported by several entertainment news sites, August 12, 2011.

Relatedly, Jeffrey Richmond, her composer husband, was happy to welcome a new addition to the family.

As reports reveal, Tina Fey, already a mom to 5-year-old Alice, initially publicized her second pregnancy during an interview she had with Oprah in early April.

She discussed about agonizing over having a second kid and apparently explained how she and her husband decided that it was time to expand their family.

Fey was reportedly quoted during the discussion saying, “My husband and I really decided that we felt rather than risk having 30 Rock end in several years and feeling like part of our family is missing that we were going to prioritize our family.”

Congrats to both Tina and Jeff.

SNL 37th season's First two Hosts and Musical Guests confirmed

Sep. 24, 2011: Alec Baldwin/ Radiohead
Oct. 1, 2011: Megan McCarthy/ Lady Antebellum

BTW, in case you're wondering who Megan McCarthy is, she's the scene-stealer from the hit film, Bridesmaids, co-starring Kirstin Wiig. Plus, she's an Emmy nominee for her co-starring role in CBS's hit sitcom, Mike & Molly.

Jason Sudeikis hosts MTV Movie Awards, and wins

Jason Sudeikis passes the test at MTV Movie Awards

Jason Sudeikis passes the test at MTV Movie Awards

By AARON BARNHART
The Kansas City Star

Local-boy-makes-good Jason Sudeikis hosted the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday night, doing no injury to any hopes he might have someday of hosting an actual awards program.

The strangest, most overhyped and least spontaneous awards show on television has become something of a magnet for “Saturday Night Live” cast members, who have hosted or co-hosted the awards show for half of its 20-year run on MTV. I guess that’s fitting, since “SNL” is the least spontaneous live show on TV, but Sudeikis could have made much more of the moment, if only someone had let him.

For all the talk about how boring the Oscars are, could there be anything more predictable than the opening minutes of the MTV Movie Awards? Sudeikis, like hosts before him, was inserted into clips of the movies MTV’s voters think are the year’s awesomest (“Black Swan,” “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” and, inevitably, “The Hangover”).

That was followed by a monologue heavy on the Governator jokes — “The entire balcony has been fathered by Arnold Schwarzenegger!” — and mentions of movie idols in the audience, although instead of Colin Firth and Julia Roberts, the MTV crowd prefers punchlines about Emma Stone and Kristin Stewart.

Sudeikis’ best line, though, came at his own expense: “I feel qualified to host the Movie Awards,” he said, “because I starred in the major motion picture ‘Hall Pass,’ which was the highest-grossing movie in America on Feb. 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.”

Later, he passed several other future-hosting-gig examinations. He pretended to play the piano while singing rejected theme songs from other alleged major motion pictures (and, in the evening’s low point, praising the breasts of Brooklyn Decker, the aspiring femme fatale of the Adam Sandler movie “Just Go With It”). He also wandered into the audience for the requisite chats with stars real (Bryce Dallas Howard) and fake (Bob the Boulder from “127 Hours”).

The interview segment almost went off the rails when Sudeikis was unable to find a prop behind him while interviewing Bob the Boulder. A crew member’s hand finally appeared in the frame, pointing out the prop.

There were the semi-scripted bits of MTV-style outrageousness, which seemed to have all been pre-approved by the censor. Justin Timberlake, presenting an award with “Black Swan’s” Mila Kunis, grabbed and held onto her breasts, while Kunis retaliated by grabbing his crotch. Whether this was a nod to sexual harassment issues in the news, a shout-out to those of us old enough to remember the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, or just something that sprang out of an MTV writer’s fertile imagination, is hard to say.

Speaking of Timberlake and the Super Bowl, social media went wild at about 9:09 local time when Robert Pattinson, during the presentation a lifetime achievement award for Reese Witherspoon (only on MTV), let loose with an F-bomb. Unlike several other F-bombs dropped in the first hour, this one was not properly bleeped, and many on Twitter wondered whether the Federal Communications Commission would step in. Don’t bet on it — the Supreme Court has limited the FCC’s power to enforce the indecency code on cable TV.

MTV MOVIE AWARD WINNERS
•Best Male Performance: Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

•Best Female Performance: Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

•Best Villain: Tom Felton, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I”

•Best Jaw-Dropping Moment: “Justin Bieber, Never Say Never”

•Best Fight: Robert Pattinson, Xavier Samuel and Bryce Dallas Howard, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

•Biggest Badass Star: Chloë Grace Moretz, “Kick-Ass”

•Best Scared Performance: Ellen Page, “Inception”

•Best Line: Alexys Nycole Sanchez in “Grown Ups” (“I want to get chocolate wasted!”)

•Best Kiss: Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

•Best Breakout Star: Chloë Grace Moretz, “Kick-Ass”

•Best Comedic Performance: Emma Stone, “Easy A”

•Best Movie: “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”

Special thanks to Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star and TV Barn, the Kansas City Star's TV website with a free weekly mailing list subscription.

Tom "T-Bone" Wolk, 1951-2010: One Year Later.

See previous link for more details.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of former SNL Band bassist and longtime member of Hall & Oates, Tom "T-Bone" Wolk. In honor of him, I have enclosed a YouTube video featuring the late musician.